Sunday, June 26, 2011

We have learned of the sad death of Alf Filer, the creator of this blog, activist in Worthing and previously a long-time activist in Brent and Harrow in North-West London. He was killed in a road accident on the A27, on Thursday evening 24th June, while returning home from a Socialist Resistance meeting in Brighton. It appears that his car broke down, and, while waiting for rescue, another car ploughed into his, knocking it into him. The bare facts of the accident are on the Argus web site: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9105972.Worthing_man_killed_by_own_car_in_horror_crash/?ref=mr

Tony Greenstein, a well known anti-zionist and local socialist activist has written this:

My friend and comrade Alf Filer has been tragically killed in a car accident last Thursday evening.

Alf had only moved to Sussex in the last year or so and had made his home in Worthing having previously lived in London. Alf was meant to be (semi) retiring to the south coast but, characteristically, that was never going to happen.

Alf was a committed socialist, anti-fascist and anti-Zionist. He campaigned locally and nationally against cuts (he was a prime mover in the formation of the Coalition of Resistance) and he organised against the EDL and the BNP, both here and in Brent and Harrow where he spent the greater part of his life.

Others have written tributes and appreciations from a perspective of having known him for a long time, but you did not need to know Alf for long to appreciate his passion for politics and campaigining. This is shown in the tributes which have been paid from activists in Sussex.

Alf was a member of Socialist Resistance, and he played an incredible part in revitalising us locally. He started a local blog and his main activity was to try to bring together the forces of the left in Worthing. Not, you might think, the most fertile of ground, but that sort of thing never deterred Alf. He was passionate about left unity, and was possible the most non-sectarian socialist I have ever known. He worked with and helped to bring together the different parts of the Worthing left into regular meetings. A meeting which he organised, on Ecosocialism, is happening this Tuesday. Everyone involved is of the view that this meeting must go ahead as a tribute to Alf.

Alf was serious about his politics - but he was also a joker. I shall miss, as much as anything, his wisecracks and his wind-ups.

A truly brilliant, dedicated and lovable man.

Below, Holly Smith, President of Brighton and Hove Trades Council, gives her own memories of Alf, and below that are links to other tributes from people who knew Alf longer for me.

I, along with many, many others, am saddened to hear of the death of Alf Filer. It feels like those of us in Brighton and the South East were only just getting to know him. After retiring as a lecturer he moved down to Worthing last year from London, and didn’t hesitate in getting involved in political activity down here.

The first time I met him was at a public meeting to oppose a local school becoming an academy. He had only just moved to the area and was keen to know about all the events and groups that existed down here so he could get stuck in.
The next time I met him was at an anti-cuts day school that we had organised. I chaired a workshop on cuts in Local Government and Alf spoke at length from the floor. I remember being impressed with his wide-ranging knowledge on a great variety of topics, and how articulate he was. This was also demonstrated in his blog, of which I was an avid reader - always looking forward to his intelligent analysis of local, national, and international events.

When I was challenging my trade union leadership over an issue a while ago, I was touched when Alf got in touch with me to offer his advice and support. We then got to talking about other issues, and how we could help each other. Alf and I were both outraged at the recent treatment by local Councils of Travellers and Gypsies in the region, finding it representative of the wider persecution they have been facing across Europe, and we had been in discussion about setting up a local support group for these communities, and together we started letter writing to the EU to ask them for an inquiry around the persecution that these communities faced, especially in Italian cities.

The last time I spoke to him he was incredibly enthusiastic about the recent re-launch of Worthing Trades Council, and he was urging me to attend the public meeting on eco-socialism he was arranging for next week.

Alf was Jewish, and committed to building solidarity between anti-Zionist Jews and Palestinians, and was also well known for his anti-fascist work. He was an intelligent, outspoken, driven, passionate, and warm man, and I very much regret that I only knew him for such a short time.
To borrow some words from another comrade who has written about him, “The best tribute we can pay to you is to keep the flame alight and the struggle for justice undimmed.”

Rest in peace comrade, you will be missed.

What do I remember about Alf?

In the late 90s and early 2000’s he was active as an independent in the Socialist Alliance in Brent, where I was also living and (sometimes) active. I didn’t know him terribly well but was impressed by his energy and independence of mind. He didn’t (as far as I can remember) get involved in Respect, probably because of scepticism about George Galloway and what he saw as communalist politics. Also he from time to time had to withdraw from political life because of his own health and because he had onerous care responsibilities for his son. When I moved to Brighton in 2007, I was also physically remote.

Out of the blue he made contact with us about 18 months ago, saying he was looking for a place to live on the South Coast after his early retirement. He rapidly decided that Brighton was too expensive, and eventually chose a small house in West Worthing.

He duly started to find his feet in Worthing and found that it had a small group of activists on various questions including a successful fight against privatisation of downland owned by the district council. He decided to set up a blog for himself and for all SR activities on the South Coast, and I helped him set this up during a productive visit to his home last January. There I also met his son Laurence. Subsequently he has from time to time asked me for more help, but usually he worked out how to do it for himself before I had the chance to respond.

My impression is of an astounding activist, whose energy and voice will live for a long time in our memories. He turned round the movement in Worthing and showed all the signs of livening things up all along the south coast, with plans to link up to Southampton and Portsmouth as well as Brighton.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Government just hasn't listened, and the NHS isn't safe yet...
That's why Lewes Stop The Cuts has organised a march through Lewes to defend it and all the people who work for it.
Meet at The Gallops, (Map link: http://goo.gl/oxi7r) at 10:30, from where we will march through the town. It will finish with a rally at the end, with speakers.

Please come along and defend our precious NHS!

There will be a banner making session on the 23rd, at 56 North Way, Lewes. This is a good opportunity to make materials for the march and meet other LSTC supporters. Refreshments will be provided, please bring any materials (paint, card, sheets etc.) that you may have.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Whilst events in Athens unfold and resistance through joint industrial action at home and elsewhere is building up, we are being fed lies by politicians and those in the media that Greeks defaulting on their debt would cause disaster. The Con Dems, bankers and IMF are causing disasters and they expect everyone just to lie down and take it. Well as we all know, there is an alternative to the IMF dictates.

Remember the damage the IMF has caused South American, African and Asian countries over the past decades? Well for those that opted for defaulting on their debt, in most cases, GDP actually increased soon after.However in nearly all cases, any economic recovery was only achieved through raising the rate of exploitation, poverty and ecological disasters, mimicing the very policies that the IMF wanted to impose on them anyway with or without defaulting.

The issue is what type of economy and economic policies should be adopted following default. Obviously not the free market, supply side privatisation programmes, based on a low wage economy that many then pursued at the expense of their own people and the environment.

Replacing international bankers exploiting their economies with local spivs and speculators is not the answer either. Whilst the flight of capital continues and the price of gold rises, clearly the Greek workers need to address the issue of socialisation of resources and capital, with the taking back control of the means of production to protect jobs and services, default or no default.

“Some countries benefit from defaulting on their debt” according to today´s Daily Chart in the Economist see below and here - “Uruguay, Russia and Indonesia did quite well after their respective defaults.” The German and French banks who´ll be on the receiving end of the so-called “haircut” will not be so happy about this, ( SHAME), nor the will be the US firms who have sold insurance on Greek government debt (CDS) to worried investors.

We are continually being warned of the cantagion effect that a Greek default might trigger in Ireland, Portugal and worse Spain and worse still Italy! What they really mean by this is their concern about the effect it may have on the speculators in those countries, who have made rich profits during the good times and now want the people of those countries to pay the price for their failures. They are more worried about an international fightback of the World's oppressed against all the bankers, corrupt politicians and dictators.An international resistance may result in a world without the IMF and the profiteers!

Yes to supporting the default option but no to the cuts and bankrupt free market supply side policies of tax cuts, rising uemployment and worsening living standards to keep the rich rich. The answer is an eco-socialist world, not a world based on international capitalist exploitation and barbaric wars of destruction.

Dave Prentis, speaking at the Unison conference in Manchester, today made it clear that the unions are not going to just sit back and take it. Promising a programme of industrial action, joint union strikes and a rolling programme of strikes, Unison plans to play a key role in joining in with other unions such as PCS, Unite, UCU, NUT, ATL and many others in opposing the Con Dem programmes of privatisation, cuts, attacks on pensions and attacks on working people.

He identified this Government as being more Thatcher than Thatcher and preferring bankers, spivs and the City to working people. The gloves are off and the need for an effective fightback is clear to all. He also warned Labour M.P.'s not to assume automatic support, accusing New Labour of "building the bridge that the Tories walked over ".

Andrew Lansley, "tosser", was condemned, along with the financial backers of private health care, for their NHS reforms. They never supported the NHS in 1948 and they certainly do not support it now. This and all the other Tory policies can only be defeated by mass industrial action and an alternative political leadership of the labour movement. One that supports and not condemns the trade unions for defending our public services. Ed Balls and co watch out. You too have failed our movement.

It was good to hear a union leader making reference to the similar struggles elsewhere in Europe and to refer to the struggles of the Palestinians also. Yes the crisis is international and unions need to take an internationalist stand.

Now we must all ensure that June 30th and beyond is a big success and that this action continues until the Con Dems and their unelected policies are thrown out.

Monday, June 20, 2011

So Cameron has come out and stated that if there was no coalition and the Tory Party had a clear majority, then they would cut public spending, benefits and immigration even more. So there we have it. Next election, when ever it may be, the Tory party will out Thatcher Thatcher and go for the jugular, assuming there is any blood left in the patient. Oh which way will the Lib Dems turn? Cutting as usual one supposes.

In the meantime we have a Labour opposition leadership that fails to support the fight back by the unions in defence of pensions and public services, with Ed Balls leading the Blue Labour entourage in attacking strike action on June 30th. We have a lack luster Ed Milliband still looking for answers and we have the shadow cabinet collectively turning the other cheek. What a great opposition they all make, not. Bring back the Archbishop of Canterbury. One word from him is more effective than all the paragraphs put together from Labour's various empty think tanks. One never thought one would say that.

Whilst New, or is it Old, or is it Blue Labour, (sounds like a newly married bride waiting for an early divorce after her hubby betrayed her!?), the unions are gaining wide support for joint industrial action on June 30th, with more promised for the Autumn. Dave Prentice said that it will be bigger than the 1926 General Strike.

In the meantime, in the fight to defend the NHS, here is a useful contribution from Wendy Savage.

In the last ten days we have had Cameron’s Five pledges — (one of which was “we will not sell off the NHS”), the report of the Future Forum and Andrew Lansley’s response to their recommendations in the House of Commons on. I listened to the Health Secretary’s speech in the House of Commons on 14th June and heard him say, “We will make it illegal to encourage the growth of one type of provider over another”, the very opposite of Labour minister Andy Burnham’s belated assurance in 2009.I could not believe that shadow health secretary John Healey did not take Lansley up on that even though he had been given the speech to read that morning.

The media blitz was expected and even BBC Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman could not get Andrew Lansley to reveal the ultimate aim of this Bill, which is to turn the NHS into a commercial market. Much of the questioning has been superficial and, for example, Nick Du Bois, the conservative MP who has been most vocal in his criticism of the reported changes, said that Labour had introduced fund-holding. He was not challenged — it was of course Kenneth Clarke in his 1989 paper ‘Working for patients’ who did this. Frank Dobson abolished fund holding in the brief period when he was Secretary of State for Health in keeping with the Labour Manifesto of 1997 — “Our fundamental purpose is simple but hugely important: to restore the NHS as a public service working co-operatively for patients, not a commercial business driven by competition.”

The Newsnight programme, where five men discussed the pledges, was heavily weighted in favour of marketeers with Chaand Nagpaul, a GP on the BMA Council, barely able to get a word in edgeways between Norman Lamb, previous health spokesman for the Lib Dems, Andrew Bridgen, a conservative backbencher and Kingsley Manning responding to Jeremy Paxman’s questions. Kingsley Manning, business development director of outsourcing company Tribal, had greeted the White Paper last July with enthusiasm saying “This white paper could amount to the denationalisation of healthcare services in England and is the most important redirection of the NHS, going further than any Secretary of State has gone before.” He believes that the NHS is unsustainable, another argument being put forward by the Right to justify these sweeping changes.

On Tuesday morning’s BBC Radio 4 Today programme we heard Lord Warner, a previous NHS manager and Health Minister in the Labour government, saying that the model of District General Hospitals was outmoded but however much care you have in the community you still need hospitals for emergency and intensive care, surgery and sophisticated medical care for complex problems.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

This was just one of the fascinating revelations at a packed meeting of Varndean School Against Academies on Friday evening. It came from David Richards, who resigned as a governor in order to fight the proposal to turn Varndean School into an academy.

He also told us that the proposal was never pre-announced on an agenda.

Judging by the massive turnout of parents, it will not be easy for the Head and a few Governors to force this through.

Other speakers included Nick Childs of NUT, Alisdair Smith of the Anti-Academies Alliance and Denise Knutsen of Unison, who expressed concerns about what academy status would do to the ethos of the school, and how it would affect other schools in the area and the services provided by the local education authority. Also there is the concern of a small group of governors being able to set the pay and conditions of the school workforce.

We also heard from students and the NUT rep at the school who told us that, incredibly, all discussion of the academy proposal is "banned"! I suspect that this is going to be strongly challenged at every opportunity!

Local MP Caroline Lucas pointed out that the ConDems were bent on the privatisation of education.

Gove thinks academies are popular with parents. Not on last nights evidence!

Do not say you did not know. Do not say you were not told. Do not say ignorance was an excuse. That was what some claimed about the Holocaust in the 30's. Well they knew then but deliberately turned a blind eye but not again.

Well now we know and now we have been told. Even worse, unless this is prevented, we know where it can end up. So whilst politicians across Europe play the race card, campaign against multi-culturalism or turn a blind eye to xenephobia of all forms we must all stand up for multi-culturalism, anti-racism and anti-fascism. Immigrants, members of ethnic minorities, travellers, Romanis, Jews, Muslims and Gay people are not responsible for the economic crisis and scapegoating only ends up with horrendous acts of barbarism unless we prevent it in the first place.

Printed below is an appeal from Everyone Group.http://www.everyonegroup.com/
The Italian government has approved an emergency decree which foresees the immediate expulsion of all illegal immigrants, and at the same time has extended the detention period in the CIEs to 18 months. According to hundreds of witness accounts (many of which have been published in the national newspapers) these Centres of Identification and Expulsion are authentic concentration camps. The decree also allows for the forced expulsion of EU citizens.

We are talking about a manhunt that is taking place throughout Italy, where the police are rounding up Roma citizens and migrants, identifying them, and charging them with every kind of offence (from begging to insulting a public official, from illegal occupation of public land to resisting police officers). The magistrates, therefore, basing their sentences on convictions that are often served through “penal decrees” (trials without the right to a defence) or by summary judgement, (an immediate trial that does not allow those accused to defend themselves properly, forcing them to negotiate a reduced prison sentence even when innocent) can order expulsions for reasons of "social dangerousness".

18 months in a CIE is harsh punishment, because after a few weeks in detention most of the migrants carry out acts of self-harm and many even contemplate suicide (often seeing their plan through). Poor immigrant families often experience the further tragedy of seeing their children taken away from them, with no opportunity to protest. The children are taken into care, and some are later adopted by Italian families. The European Union must avoid falling prey to the same indifference that allowed the Holocaust and other persecutions in modern history to take place.

We are asking the EU authorities to organize a committee of inquiry to inspect the conditions of persecution that migrants and refugees are living in in Italian cities. The committee should observe the waste of European funds allocated to immigration; the spread of intolerant ideologies promoted by politicians and the media; and the failure to implement programme to combat racism, neo-Nazism, antiziganism, anti-Semitism and racial ideologies. The new agreements that the Italian Minister of the Interior (a top man in a party that combats foreigners and immigrants without posing ethical limits) is about to sign with Libya, will result in more pushing back of refugees, or the blocking of groups of refugees fleeing from persecution.

This is today’s Italy, where the Italian people are becoming accustomed to the serious discrimination taking place against the Roma, poor Africans and migrants, and the many episodes of anti-Semitism, xenophobia and homophobia. EveryOne Group (whose activists have also been subjected to institutional persecution for their commitment to defending the rights of minorities) is calling on the EU institutions to ensure that this country - which has become a place of intolerance in which the germs of racial hatred grow - does not contaminate European culture and lead it back to cruel times, where the lives of human beings belonging to an ethnic or social minority become worthless before the law, the media, culture and public opinion.

The environment and the future of our planet is facing a crisis. Our economic system is in a state of collapse. Capitalism has failed internationally, with cuts in public services, austerity measures and unemployment affecting all of our living standards across the globe.

On June 30, joint industrial action by public sector workers represents a fight back against the Con Dem coalition. We are told that there is no alternative to their budget plans and we must simply accept it.

From Spain, Greece and the Middle East, people are saying there is an alternative which does not involve protecting bankers, dictators and corrupt politicians. The old solutions are being rejected in favour of international solutions based on people not profit and alternative environmental policies.

Come and hear the arguments and discuss the alternatives. Join us. All are welcomed.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The super rich are subject to three main taxes other than income tax. These are corporation tax, a tax on company profits, capital gains tax is a tax on trading property and shares and Inheritance Tax paid when a person dies. If you have many millions you will mainly pay capital gains tax on buying and selling property and shares. The rate of corporation tax will also affect your returns because you will receive dividends from company profits.

Shortly after Mrs Thatcher came to power and for the majority of her term in office the top rate of tax on the super rich was 60%. This was reduced to 40% in the famous 1988 Lawson budget. When Blair came to office the top rate was still 40%. But after the business friendly Blair/Brown governments’ corporation tax had been significantly reduced and capital gains tax had been reduced to an amazing 18%. This is of course less than someone working for measly £6 an hour would pay. Part of the reason for the massive financial black hole which developed during the last Labour government was this massive cut in the taxation of the super rich.

The Condem government's shift of taxation onto ordinary working people is illustrated by the rise in VAT to 20% and the cuts in corporation tax. In several western countries the rate of corporation tax is between 40-50% whereas the government proposes to go to a rate of 24%.

The one small token in difference to this was the rise in capital gains tax under pressure from the Liberal Democrats. It was increased last year to 28% for higher rate taxpayers from Labour's 18%.’ (Thanks to Stuart Richardson for this).

The Rich Keep on getting Richer (from a forthcoming chapter by Dave Hill).

And yet the rich keep getting richer! Just to take three examples from Britain and from Ireland.

In Britain, the government's latest figures show that in the capital the top 10% of society had on average a wealth of £933,563 compared to the meagre £3,420

of the poorest 10%– a wealth multiple of 273.(from Danny Dorling, 2010a. See Ramesh, 2010. See also, Dorling, 2010b). This is the biggest differential since slavery!

Dorling also points out that “The 1,000 richest people in Britain became 30 percent richer in the last year. That’s a £77 billion rise in wealth—enough to wipe out around half the government’s budget deficit.” (Dorling, 2010).

And, as for Ireland, `The 300 richest people in Ireland are worth almost €57bn or more than the entire Libyan or Croatian economy. They've got much richer too, with close to €6.7bn added to their combined wealth over the last year’. No hard times for them! (The Independent, 2011).

Cuts for the Workers

In Greece, the PASOK (social democratic) government of George Papandreou has decided that civil servants- including teachers and university teachers-have had pay freezes or cuts up to 30 per cent; VAT has risen to 21 per cent and state-funded pensions are being reduced to reflect average lifetime earnings rather than final salaries. Also there is a wage freeze for three years, and in the public sector, 4 out of 5 workers who retire will not be replaced. In the private sector, massive wage cuts up to 25%. Unemployment benefits have been cut, and a poverty support scheme implemented in 2009 has been suspended. Drastic cuts in benefits for large families.

There are also plans to end collective bargaining and impose individualized contracts instead. The existing practice of extended very low paid or even unpaid internships has been legalized. Resorting to temporary workers is now permitted in the public sector. (See Toussaint, 2011. For detail on Britain, see Thornett, 2010)

And in Britain £7 billion in welfare cuts were announced in the October `Comprehensive Spending review’, in addition to the £11 billion presented in the summer. The attack on benefits is the most vicious in living memory- for example cuts in education benefits such as the EMA, cuts in Housing Benefit (subsidies for rents for the poor) which will force poor families out of their homes into cheaper areas, cuts in local government spending which will result in closures of thousands of libraries and support staff for the weak, the elderly, and services for children. Half a million public sector jobs- tax collectors, teachers, nurses, doctors, police, local government workers, lecturers, are to be axed by 2015 with an impact on a further half a million private sector jobs dependent on the public sector. Already, in March 2011, unemployment in Britain is the highest for 17 years. Funding to local councils will be cut by 25% over the same four-year period. University students will see their fees (and the resulting debt they are saddled with) shoot up.Public sector workers will have to pay more for their pensions, and all workers will have to work longer.

Public sector workers who still have jobs will be forced to pay 3% more in pension contributions on top of a pay freeze. Ultimately all workers will be forced to work longer before they can retire – a double whammy since you pay more in contributions and get less time to ‘enjoy’ your pension after retiring.

The Choice

So, are we to be explicit or complicit in our servile, or self-justified, acceptance of the currently exponentially expanding capitalist kleptocracy? Or do we take a principled stand and stand up for humanity and social justice, for the rather more fundamental economic justice and massive redistribution of wealth, income, power, life chances, and for a critical- and self-critical!- democratic socialist, anti-capitalist, future?That’s the choice! And that choice has to argued, organised, campaigned for. That’s where party comes in. Organisation to organise anger and opposition.

The 30 June 2011 strike of public sector unions in Britain will be building that anger, that opposition, that organisation.

Dave Hill 16 June 2011

(Dave Hill was living and working in Greece, at the University of Athens, and speaking at various meetings such as Antarsia, (far-left coalition) between March- June 2011).

The Con-Dem Coalition plans massive cuts in pensions. Public-sector workers will be expected to pay more, wait longer, and get less. That is why civil servants, teachers, and lecturers will be striking on 30 June.

The Con-Dems and the tabloids talk about ‘gold-plated’ pensions. The only gold-plated pensions in Britain are those of the rich. The pension wealth of the top 10% is worth TEN TIMES that of the bottom 50%. And the gap is getting bigger.

The attack on public-sector pensions, including hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers, is part of the wider cuts programme. It is an attack on us all. The Con-Dems’ talk of ‘gold-plated’ pensions is designed to divide us. We must stand together.

Every anti-cuts activist should support the pensions strike on 30 June. On the day, strikers, students, and anti-cuts activists should come together on picket-lines and at local rallies. In the run-up, there should be street stalls and planning meetings to maximise the impact of the action.

Register for the national conference: 9 July

The Coalition of Resistance National Members and Delegates Conference takes place on Saturday 9 July, 10am-5pm, at the University of London Union, Malet Street, London, WC1E (nearest station: Euston).

With resolutions, workshops, and discussion, we will plan the way forwards in the fight against austerity and privatisation. All CoR supporters should register for the conference and encourage union branches, student unions, anti-cuts groups, and campaign groups to send delegates.

In Worthing and Brighton, there will be rallies and marches organised by the trade unions, anti-cuts groups and local community groups against the cuts and in defence of pensions, jobs and public services on June 30th.

In Worthing, there is planned a rally and march from Steine Gardens - details to be confirmed.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Are you fed up with Government ministers, politicians, bankers and other parasitic millionaires telling us all that we need to accept cuts, save money and accept less pay for more work? Whilst they are not short of a few pennies, having made huger profits, working people suffer. They and their friends in the media then have the audacity to lecture us all on the need to work longer, pay more into pension schemes to receive less and accept lower living standards.

The bankers tell us all it is all the fault of the Greeks. What they really mean is that if the Greek people default on the debt and refuse to accept the undemocratic dictates of the IMF, then they,(the bankers), will lose a fortune. Well we are fed up with bailing out the bankers with our tax money so that they can continue to get rich at our expense. They caused this crisis, not working people.

PCS joins in with other trade unions to organise joint industrial action on June 30th. We must all work to make this a day of protest that unites everyone .

Vote to strike over pensions, pay and job cuts

PCS members have voted by a clear majority in favour of strike action and action short of strike, in the dispute over pensions, pay and job cuts.
61.1% of members voted in favour of strike action and 83.6% in favour of action short of strike, on a turnout of 32.4%.
The PCS result follows yesterday’s announcement of votes in favour of strike action by teaching unions. The PCS NEC has agreed to co-ordinate action with education unions, which will lead to the biggest strike in a generation.
The NEC has agreed unanimously that unless there are significant concessions from the government, a 24 hour strike for 30 June 2011 will be called. This will be followed by an overtime ban throughout July.
The NEC would like to thank all members and activists for their continued work and support.
Further information will follow shortly. Find out the latest at http://www.pcs.org.uk/

On the day that public sector unions announce co-ordinated strike action plans on June 30th, here are some photos just sent from Athens by Dave Hill. These have just been sent in.

The government of PASOK are proposing a further cut in public sector salaries, and further pension cuts.. Public sector workers have already had a pay cut of 20percent.. Fears are that the threatened austerity measures will meana further 30 per cent pay cut- actual pay cuts!..... Plus privatisation of electricity, water,telecoomunications, ports,, and increased taxesn for exmple on tabacco, refreshments..... Parliament is now surrounded, protected by the police of course

Also compulsory redundancies, there are threats to reduce the public sector workforce by 50percent over three years

Refugees, escaping the horrors of war, dictators, torture and death threats have found a safe haven in this country over the past centuries. They and their famillies are the innocent victims of governments in breach of human rights conventions and international law. We have a moral and legal duty to protect them by recognising and upholding their refugee status. On Thursday, Sri Lankan Tamils are being deported and face possible death. They must be allowed to stay here.Their deportation must not be allowed to take place.

An ethical foreign policy means that our government must not collaborate with dictators and miltary regimes which deny people their human rights.

Brighton and Hove, Refugee Week, 18-25 JuneRefugee week is a UK-wide programme of cultural and educational events which highlights the contribution that refugees make to life in the UK.

The programme of events taking place in Brighton and Hove, for Refugee Week, 18-25 June, include:

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Today, (Tuesday 14 June), the NUT announced overwhelming endorsement by its members for strike action to defend teachers’ pensions. In the NUT’s strike ballot 92% voted in favour of strike action with a turnout of 40%

We will be campaigning alongside the ATL who have had similar strong results in their ballot of members.

The NUT executive will be meeting tomorrow to take the formal decision on a day of national strike action planned for 30 June.

The NUT believes that our pensions are fair and affordable. The Government wants teachers to pay more, work longer, and get less. They are pressing ahead with unnecessary reforms despite the changes already made to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in 2007.

The National Audit Office has confirmed that public sector pension costs are falling as expected due to the reforms already in place. Teachers are already paying more, the normal pension age has been raised to 65 for new entrants and employer contributions have been capped.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has also been highly critical of the Government’s pension strategy which they say is based more on public perception of public sector pensions than on actual figures.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:

“The Government’s unnecessary attack on public sector pensions has convinced NUT members that there is no alternative but to support strike action.

“It is disgraceful that the Government is pressing ahead with its reforms which will affect teachers’ pensions. The Government knows that they are affordable. This is a policy which has nothing to do with economics and everything to do with politics.

“The NUT is party to the TUC negotiations with Government to protect public sector pensions. It is not too late for common sense to prevail and for these unnecessary changes to be stopped. It is in no one’s interest to create a whole new swathe of people who are a burden on the taxpayer in old age.

“The NUT alongside TUC affiliated unions will do all we can to ensure fair pensions for all.”

ENDpr86-2011

For further details contact Caroline Cowie on 0207 380 4706 or 07879480061

In total 218,370 in service NUT members who are also members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme have been balloted. This excludes supply teacher members, members in other independent schools, and members not employed as teachers and not eligible for the TPS eg. Soulbury paid members, administrators, learning assistants etc who are mostly in the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Teachers in England and Wales have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action against government plans to cut their pensions.

Ballot results released this afternoon for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and the National Union of Teachers reflect a high level of anger and resistance.

For the ATL 83% voted for a campaign of strikes. In the NUT it was 92%.

This is especially significant for the ATL as this is its first ever national strike ballot.

Together with the NUT this result represents the majority of school teachers in England and Wales, in both the state maintained and independent sectors.

Both organisations will now consider these results at meetings in the next two days.

"Unless the government makes an immediate and fundamental reversal of its plans to make us pay more, and work longer to get less pension in retirement, strike action will start with one day's stoppage on 30 June" says NUT National Executive member Nick GRANT. "We also expect colleagues in the University and College Union and the PCS civil servants to join us on strike that day."

"We call on everyone who is angry about the unjustified attacks on public services and its workforce to join us on the day at a march and rally from Lincolns Inn Fields, Holborn at 11.30am to go via Whitehall to Westminster for a rally."

"This is a fight for the future of properly funded and accountable public services. And it is a fight which is only just beginning"

Monday, June 13, 2011

On Monday, about 1000 council workers and hospital cleaners marched through Southampton.

The Council workers are striking against threatened cuts in pay and the imposition of new, inferior contracts of employment. The hospital workers are taking action to force their employer, a contractor called Medirest, to honour a pay agreement.

The City Council dispute is turning into a major test of the ConDems' ability to cut public spending and are a precursor to the coming attack on public sector pensions.

On 30th June, hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, teachers and civil servants, are striking for one day.

It is vital that all of the struggles are linked. At the moment local union branches are fighting in isolation, and the national action on the 30th does not include workers in local government and the health service.

It is also extremely important that links are made between the attacks on workers' jobs, pay and conditions, and the cuts in services. Unions need to work with local anti-cuts groups so that the bosses and the politicians cannot drive a wedge between workers and the local community.

The Southampton Council dispute is a major test of the ability of the government and their local proxies to get through the cuts and policies which will so fundamentally change public services - and not for the better!

It is in all our interests to support the resistance being put up by the workers in Southampton.

About Me

We believe that the function of socialists must be to support the self organisation of working people in their struggles against all forms of oppression, both at home and internationally.
We totally reject sectarianism, where one group puts its interests above that of the working class.
e.mail: socialistresistance.sussex@googlemail.com